BEAT PC (Bidirectional Signaling and Transdifferentiation in PDAC )
Prof Vincenzo Corbo’s lab uses different experimental models of pancreatic cancer to investigate the determinants of malignant progression with the ultimate goal of favoring the identification of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the deadliest cancer worldwide. Transcriptomic analyses of bulk tissues and cell lines have identified two major epithelial cell lineages with distinct biology and clinical behaviors: the classical and the basal-like/squamous subtypes. In addition to cell intrinsic factors (e.g., cell of origin, epigenetic and genetic), it is now well established that cell extrinsic factors (e.g., cues from stromal or immune cells, nutrient availability, oxygen concentration, and drug treatment) participate in the definition of PDAC phenotypes.
Our aim is to improve outcomes of this dismal disease through the identification of determinants of PDAC cell states as well as to understand how the microenvironment influences the evolutionary trajectory of the tumor.
We have identified the following research questions:
(1) how the alteration of specific genes drives the evolution of PDAC towards aggressive phenotypes
(2) how different microenvironmental contextures influence the evolutionary trajectory of the tumor
The long term goal is to improve our ability to fight PDAC transferring fundamental knowledge to clinical practice and wellbeing of patients
The lab is part of international consortia, including the EU-funded project PRECODE and the NCI-sponsored Human Cancer Model Initiative.